1892 Holdings, the investor group led by Amit Bhatia and including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has secured first refusal to become Liverpool's majority shareholder within the next 12 months, should current owner Fenway Sports Group decide to sell. The consortium already agreed a deal announced on Friday to buy into the Anfield club, and this option raises the prospect of Bezos and fellow billionaires replacing FSG at the helm of the Premier League champions in the near future.

The initial agreement, first reported to be for 30-38% of Liverpool, has now been confirmed at 38%, with 1892 paying FSG just over £2bn, valuing the club at roughly £5.5bn. FSG maintains the deal is not an exit strategy from a club it bought for £300m in 2010 and stresses it is not obliged to sell further, with the option resting solely with 1892 and requiring no formal commitment on FSG's part. Bezos, who invested via the K5 Sports fund, is currently a passive investor, while Bhatia becomes vice-chair with backing from father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal, and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's wife Elaine also joins the expanded board.